Apparatus for raising sunken ships



5 Sheets-Shet .l

FuuRsE @51g Quo J. w. RENO APPARATUS FOR RAISING SUNKEN SHIPS FIGURE I Filed Dec. 27 1919v Jan,

Jan'. 20, 1925. 11,523,660-

J. W. RENO APPARATUS FCR RAIS ING SUNKEN SHIPS Filed DGG. 27, 1919. 5 Sheets-Sheet 3` 7 FIGURE 5 I/ FIGURE 6 FIGURE 'Z Patented dan. 2U, 1925.

JESSE W. RENO, 0F NEW YORK, N. Y.'

APPARATUS EUR yRLFLSING SUNKEN SHIPS.

Application filed December Q7, 1919.

To all whom t may cof/conn Be it known that l, Jnssn W. RENO, a citizen of the United States, residing in New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented a new and useful 1improvement in Apparatus for Raising Sunken Ships, of whichthe following is a specification.

My invention relates to an apparatus to be used in the art of raising sunken ships by means of drilling a number of holes in the sides of the ships by a drill mounted in a water tightl casingwhich in turn is mounted on a mobile tractor which is adapted to be self propelled on the bottom of the sea at the side of the ship to be salvaged. rllhe holes drilled in the sides of the ship are designed and intended to receive hooks suspended. from a' chain, the opposite end of the chain being fastened to a submerged air tank or pontoon and which cause it to raise the ship by having water expelled from'it by air admitted therein and thus raise the ship by buoyant force of the pontoon.

My present invention. also involves an improved form of casing, which is divided horizontally with alower portion to receive a power motor both .to propel the tractor and also drive the drill, and an upper portion of the casingv to carry the drill, theidea being to render the interior of the casing or working chamber readily accessible for repairs and any other purposeA and a further advantage in facility and'easeY of'manufacture of the casing.

My invention also involves certain designs or arrangements of the motor andv its driving shaft and the drill andthe shaft for driving the tractor;

My invention in the art ofwrecking sunkenships submerged in deep water also involves, if found to be needed, the use of an apparatus consisting of a combination of the mobile tractor driven by a power motor and a centrifugal water pump with a directing noxzle, which apparatus will be' used to level or wash away or remove any collection of' sand or silt around the hull of the ship as sunk; all of whichwill more fully appear in the spe-ciiication.

My invention also involves certain other features'which will appear in the speciiication and claims.

The workof drilling holes in the sides ofv the ship by my apparatus used in the' specitlc artofwreckmg sunken ships can be conseriai no. 47,764.

veniently and rapidly done so that any desired number of holes can be drilled in the sides of the ship so that any desired number of air tanks or pontoons can be readily attached to the said ship and by their buoyant action raise her without strain or stress upon her structure; and in this wayships even of very large size and sunk in deep water can be expeditiously and commercially raised to the surface of the sea and then reclaimed.

ln carrying out my methodf raising sunken ships, l attain my objects thereinv by the use of the apparatusillustrated in the accompanying draw'ngs, in which F ig. l is a side elevation of ,my apparatus partly in vertical cross section in position to drill a hole in the side of the ship at the point desired.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of my apparatus shown in Fig. l, the upper portion of the working chamber being in horizontal seotion.

Fig. l is a side elevation of my mobile tractor and power motor combined with a circulating water pump with a discharge noszle. 4

Fig. lis a view in plan of Fig. 3.

Figure 5 is an enlarged plan view of the adjustable clutches and snaft sections in Figure 2.

Figure 6 is a side elevation of the adjustable clutch and shaft sections disengaged.

Figure 7 is lan end elevation of one of the forked levers or. handles for throwing the adjustable clutch. n

Similar letters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

The mobile drill apparatus, 1,con1prises av working air chamber, 2, adapted to be let down from the surface of the sea by' chains, 3, to the bottom of the sea. Air is supplied through a tube, 4, to the working chamber under atmospheric pressure. The chamber is made strong enough to withstand'the external pressure due to th'e head of the water at the sea bottom and large enough to give the necessary working space in the interior` thereof for the operators, say, for instance, two operators, the dimensions of the working chamber being about six feet in diameter and eight feet to the ceiling or overhead. rl`he chamber is mounted on al suitable franie or chassis, 5, movable by tractor belts, 6, vadapted to be operated by sprocket chains, 7,' driven by a shaft, 8, located in the working chamber. The shaft is divided into three parts, adapted to be clutched together by clutches, 9. The shaft, 8, is driven Vby a. worm and gear, 10, the worm being on the end of the motor shaft of a. power inotor, 11, in this instance, an electric motor. The Clutches are of any well known type and are adapted to be, operated in any well known way, for instance, by ay forked lever or handle, 28, the object of the clutches being to allow the motor to operate and driveV the shaft, 8, without drivingthe tractor, which result is attained by opening the clutches, or on the other hand, to enable 13, on the shaft, 14, to turn the shaft? axially. Y

The gear wheel, 13, is mounted to slide on the shaft in a lengthwise direction of the shaft in order that the gear wheel, 13 may be disconnected from the gear pinion, 12, if and when desired. The shaft, 14, is

'mounted in a suitable position in the walls of the working chamber, 1. Both the ends of the shaft extend beyond the outside of the walls of the chamber; in that way, the shaft is balanced by the water pressure. Under one end of the shaft within its working chamber, I place a lever, 15, pivoted at the point, 16, to a frame, 17. The function of the lever is to move the shaft, 14, end- `wise to and fro in order to feed the drill iu its work in drilling a hole in the side of the ship and to,` withdraw the drill from the hole. I have only indicatedY the Yconnections of the lever, 15, with the shaft, 14, because the lever is merely typical of the usual feed device for drills. On one end of the shaft, 14, I have placed a reamer drill, 18, and have indicated the point of the drill as having penetrated the plate in the side of the ship. I deem it unnecessary to further describe the drill since it is of a well known type of drill. Thus far I have not touched upon the dimensions of the parts, the pump of the motor or any other similar.V conditions as those matters to the desirability of my invention becausel :are all referable to the designer of the apparatus; but I Ybelieve that with a small motor, say, for instance, 2O II. P., I can both propel the tractor to anyV suitable it enables the work of wrecking the ship to be quickly, economically and certainly done.

I have shown the working'chamber longi-v tudinally divided into an upper and lowerk Vhaving reference more particularly to allow the upper part to be taken olf ofthe lower part to suit the convenience of the user of` the apparatus, in order to get to theparts in the working chamber for repairs;` and also to manufaoturethe vchamber very read-V ily and to assemble the parts together. to form the working chamber, and at the same time, enable the working parts in the chainber to be easily and conveniently assembled in the chamber or disassembled, as the case may be.

Having reference to my apparatus for leveling or washing away or removing'anyy sand or silt around the hull of the sunken ship in order to facilitatethe wrecking ofI the ship or the approach ofmy apparatus with the drill, I have shown the apparatus wherein the upper part of the working chamber is free of any apparatus, while the lower part of the Aworking chamber carriesv the propelling shaft for the tractor, the motor and the circulating pump, 20, and a nozzle, 21, for vdirecting the discharge of the water from the pump onto and against the sand vor silt, 22, to be removed. I have only indicated the outline of the pump becauseit may be of any suitable type and will be driven by a motor to cause the water to `be drawn in through an *inlet tube, v23, and expelled through the nozzle, 21, to cause the sand, 22, to be' leveled or washed away by the stream of water Vfrom the nozzle, 21. I have also indicated in the drawing, Figs. 3 and 4, a hand wheel, 24, and worin and gear, 25, for elevating the nozzle, 21. That device is of any well known type, known and used for the purpose.

In describing the construction of my ap-V paratus, I have, in effect, describedV its mode of operation which is so simple as to be obvious upon inspection ofthe drawing and therefore I deem itv unnecessary to describe the operation of my apparatus in theart of wrecking sunken ships ysubmerged in the Y sea; I might say, however,.that Iin case it isy found that there is sand or silt 'at the sidey of the ship which mayor will interfere with ythe operation of my apparatus for'drilling the holes in the sides of the ship, I resort to my water power leveling'device, alreadyL described and shown inIfig's'. 3`andf4, to remove the silt or sand from out of the way of my drilling apparatus; whereupon, the pump can be removed from the working chamber simply by elevating the pump out of the lower halt of the chamber, the inlet and outlet tubing of the pump being di vided into several parts asI indicated at the points, 2G and 2T, which allows the pump proper to be separated from the inlet and outlet tubing and litt it out ot the working chamber; whereupon the gear pinion, l2, can be slipped over the end of the motor sha-it, and the upper portion of the working chamber with the drill be secured to the lower portion of the working chamber, and the drilling apparatus be thereupon brought up to the side of the ship to drill a hole at the point desired.

l claiml. In the art ot' salvaging stinken ships submerged in the depths of the sea, an apparatus for forming holes in the sides ot a sunken ship to attach buoyant devices to raise the ship comprising the combination ot a mobile tractor, a water-tight working chamber mounted thereon, and a drill mounted in the chamber.

2, In the art of salvaging sunken ships submerged in. the depths of the sea, an apparatus for forming holes in the sides oit a sunken ship to attach buoyant devices to raise the ship comprising the combination ot an automotive tractor, a water-tight working chamber carried by the tractor, and a power drill mounted in the chamber.

3. In the art ot salvaging sunken ships submerged in the depths of the sea, an apparatus i'or forming holes yin the sides of the ship to attach Ibuoyant devices to raise the ship, comprising a mobile tractor, a water-tight working chamber on the tractor, a drill in the chamber, a motor to drive the tractor to move the drill to the side of the ship and hold it there while the drill is operating to drill a hole in the side of the ship, means to drive the drill and feed the same in the operation oi drilling a hole.

a. ln the art oit raising ships sunk in the depths of the sea, an apparatus comprising an automotive tractor, an airtight working chamber. a drill rod in the chamber, a motor within the chamber to drive the tractor and drill, the motor comprising a drive shaft divided into sections, adjustable clutches adapted to clutch the sections ot the shaft together, sprocket pinions on the end sections of the shaft and sprocket chains engaged with the said sprockets, to drive the belts of the tractor, a gear Wheel on the middle section ot' the said shaft, a worm on the end o't' the motor shaft engaged with the said gear wheel, a broad-faced gear pinion on the other end of the motor shaft, a narrow-faced gear Wheel, mounted on the drill rod, and adapted to mesh with the said pinion, and also slidable on the drill rod to be moved out ot mesh with the said pinion, whereby the tractor and drill rod can be driven by the motor conjointly or disj ointly.

5. In the speciiic art of salvaging ships sunk in the depths of the sea by the buoyant 'torce ot devices attached to holes drilled in the sides otl the ship, an apparatus for drilling the holes comprising a tractor', adapted to be operated on the bottom of the sea at the site of the sunken ship, a water-tight working chamber supported on the tractor, divided into upper and lower parts, the upper part adapted to be lifted off of the lower part, a drill mounted in the walls of the upper part of the chamber its opposite ends projected therefrom and a motor mounted in the lower part ot' the chamber, to drive the tractor and drill, and gears between the motor and drill.

G. An apparatus adapted to be used under the seat to drill holes at predetermined points in the sides ot' the sunken vessel to attach buoyant devices thereto to raise it, comp-rising the combination of a water tight working chamber, a drill mechanism mount ed in the chamber, the opposite ends of the drill rod projected through the walls of the chamber to balance the drill hydrostatically against the pressure of the water.

7. In a diving apparatus, the combination with a tractor, of a water tight working chamber, a tool mounted thereon, said tool adapted to operate upon external objects, power means to operate said tractor and tool and means to transmit power from the power means to said tractor and tool independently of each other.

8. In a diving apparatus, the combination with a tractor, ot a water tight shell, a tool mounted thereon, adapted to operate upon external objects, a motor to operate said tractor and tool, and power transmission mea-ns between the motor, tractor' and tool controllable to operate the tractor and tool independently of each other.

ln testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specication.

JESSE W. RENO. 

